Receptacle liner



Filed April 18, 1955 INVENTOR .Dmwa 0. 11mm ATTORNEY United StatesPatent RECEPTACLE LINER Daniel 0. Inman, Blackhawk, Ill. ApplicationApril18, 1955, Serial No. 501,893

1 Claim. c1. 229-31 This invention is a receptacle liner and is directedparticularly for use in connection with lunch boxes.

When food is being put up for lunch, it has been the usual practice towrap thevarious articles, such as sandwiches, etc., in an imperviouswrapper prior to its being placed in the box, in order to maintain aswell as possible the wrapped food in fresh and appetizing condi tion, toprotect the same from coming in contact with the walls of the box, andto prevent moisture contained in the food from coming in contact withthe interior walls of the box. Various wrappings for these purposes havebeen proposed, such as paper, waxed or otherwise, and napkins. There is,however, a serious objection to these methods because they areinadequate and do not provide the protection intended.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide preformed linerscut to such dimension as to fit snugly within the lunch box, made ofsuitable sheet material such as paper, either waxed or otherwise, whichliners are so constructed as to permit of the same being quickly andeasily applied to the interior of the box to cover the bottom, end andside walls, and also to provide aprons or flaps to fold over the edgesof the box to maintain the contents in proper condition and againstcoming in contact with either the bottom or the walls of the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a liner sheet providedwith lines of fold which permit of the liner sheet being folded neatly,in small compass and in compact form for storage purposes and which maybe quickly and easily set up and applied to the interior of the box tosafeguard the contents thereof coming in contact with any of the wallsor the bottom of the box and to maintain the contents in substantiallysealed condition within the container.

With the foregoing objects in view, together with others which willappear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the novelconstuction, combination and arrangement of parts, all as will bedescribed more fully hereinafter, illustrated in the drawings andparticularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the liner sheet in its extended or flat formshowing longitudinal, transverse and diagonal lines of fold as a guideto properly setting up or forming the liner,

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the first step in folding the sheetinto compact form,

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the liner as it will appear when incompletely compact or folded form,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the liner in set up" condition, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional form of lunch box or kitshowing my improved liner applied therein. V

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, Fig. 1 discloses a fiatrectangular sheet of material, such as paper, cellophane, wax paper, orfoil, whose dimension Patented Feb. 10, 1959 will depend upon theinterior area of the box or kit with which it will be associated. Thesheet in the present in stance is twice the length of the receptaclebottom and three times as wide. 'This sheet is provided with a pair ofspaced parallel lines of fold indicated at 6 extending throughout thelength of the sheet, spaced apart a distance equal to the breadth of thebox with which the sheet is to be used and the distance between thesefold lines and the adjacent longitudinal edges of the sheet will besubstantially equal to the height of the side walls of the box. Thesheet is also provided with a pair of spaced parallel transverse linesof fold indicated at 7. These lines will be spaced apart a distancesubstantially equal to the-length of the box with which the liner is tobe associated, and the distance between these transverse fold lines 7and the ends of the sheet indicated at 8 will be substantially equal tothe height of the end walls of the box. Each of the ends of the sheet isprovided with a flap indicated at 9 extending throughout the breadth ofthe sheet and preferably integral with the sheet itself. As will beobserved from the drawing, these fiaps or aprons 9 are substantiallynarrow.

Additional angular fold lines are provided in each corner of the sheet.These lines of fold are indicated at 10, and each extends from theintersection of the lines 6 and 7 to the adjacent corner of the sheet toprovide gusset poprtions represented at 11. The sheet is furtherprovided with a transverse line of fold indicated at 12 disposed midwaythe ends of the sheet and extending throughout the width thereof.Additional lines of fold 13 extend from the intersections of the lines6-7 to the intersection of the line 12 with the side edges of the sheet.

By providing the scoring or lines of fold in the manner described, thesheet may be folded upon itself as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 to provide asmall, thin and compact package as illustrated in Fig. 3, the ends ofthe flaps 9 affording means whereby the ends may be grasped and pulledin opposite outward directions to unfold or set up the liner in theposition shown in Fig. 4. When in this set up position, the flaps oraprons 9 are bent downwardly as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 to engage overthe edges of the rectangular lunch box or container indicated at 14.When so set up and applied to the box, it will be observed that theliner snugly fits within the receptacle and protects the contents fromcoming in contact with the sides or bottom of the receptacle. More over,the apron or flap 9 extends entirely around the edges of the box andconstitutes a sealing means when the cover is closed to maintain theinterior of the box in substantially sealed condition. When the contentsof the receptacle are removed, the liner may be easily and quicklyremoved and dispensed with, insuring the interior of the box againstcoming in contact with any food or moisture which may have been presentin the liner.

It will be understood that the fold line 12 disposed transversely of theblank sheet is the guide for folding the blank upon itself so as tobring about the packet as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

I claim:

A liner for snug and interlocking engagement in a receptacle having arectangular bottom of a length twice as long as its breadth with sidesand ends extending upwardly therefrom with the height of the sides equalto the width of the bottom, comprising a flat rectangular sheet offoldable material three times as wide as said bottom and twice thelength thereof, a pair of spaced parallel fold lines extendinglongitudinally of said sheet and parallel with the side edges thereofand each spaced inwardly therefrom a distance equal to the height of theside walls of the receptacle, a pair of end fold lines disposedtransversely of said sheet parallel to each other and to the end'edgesof said sheet and disposed inwardly from said edges a distance equal tothe height of the receptacle ends, a median fold line extendingtransversely of said sheet intermediate and parallel with said-ends,fold lines extending from the intersection of said longitudinal andtransverse end fold lines to the adjacent corners of said sheet, foldlines extending from the intersection of the median line with the sideedges of the sheet and the intersection of the end fold lines with saidlongitudinal fold lines, and flaps on said sheet ends coextensivetherewith and projecting beyond the edges thereof to provide aprons tofold over the edges of the sides and ends of said receptacle throughoutits perimeter and to meet midway the ends of the receptacle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS170,991 Conover Dec. 14, 1875 847,314 Burns Mar. 19, 1907 2,330,262Biggs Sept. 28, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 324,860 Germany Apr. 20, 1918

